1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an intermediate transfer element included in an image formation apparatus and an image formation apparatus including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image formation apparatus of an electrophotography type, for example, a latent image formed on an electrostatic latent image carrier (also referred to as an image carrier or a photoconductor) is developed with toner, the obtained toner image is temporarily held on an intermediate transfer element (also referred to as an intermediate transfer belt or a transfer member) in a shape of an endless belt, and the toner image on this intermediate transfer element is transferred onto a recording material such as paper.
For example, a polyimide resin has been adopted for such an intermediate transfer element in order to improve a transfer function such as adaptability to paper or image quality (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-047451). A temperature of the polyimide resin, however, should be raised to 400° C. or higher for molding, which leads to poor productivity and higher cost.
In an attempt to solve this problem, it has been proposed to adopt a thermoplastic resin for a resin base material layer and to form an inorganic layer on a surface thereof (WO2007/046260A1). Though a rate of transfer is enhanced by forming the inorganic layer having a high hardness, a thickness thereof is small and hence damages are likely when a foreign matter is bitten or a pressure is locally applied.
In another attempt, it has been proposed to form a surface layer composed of a curable resin on a resin base material layer made of a thermoplastic resin (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-316622, WO2011/096464A1, and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2013-024898).